Chapter 13 Date of Last Activity (DOLA) on Included Accounts After Discharge

[RobotOverlord412]

We were discharged on our Chapter 13 filed in July 2016 in August 2021 and I have been working almost daily through MyFico to fix all of the issues with our credit reports with all three bureaus.  We are looking into purchasing a car to replace one of our older ones that seems to spend more time in the shop than our driveway, so I looked at our Auto FICO scores. 

The Auto Score 5, 4, & 2 are 683(EF), 673(TU), and 687(EX). The FICO Auto Score 9 are 716(EF), 695(TU), and 721(EX).  

I was in a little shock when reviewing our Auto Score 8, which are 690(EF), **583(TU)**, and 705(EX).  

Wait, WHAT!!??  

I had a chat with MyFico support, and they were suggesting that we have an Auto Loan that was included in the bankruptcy that has the Remark Field set to WEP (Chapter 13 Bankruptcy) and CLO (Closed), but has the Date of Last Update set to November 2020, which is when the loan was paid off through the Trustee.  

I then reviewed all of the other accounts included in the Chapter 13 that are closed with Transunion, and there are 5 total accounts that have the Date of Last Update set to dates beyond the filing month of July 2016 on Transunion.  

It seems that the FICO 8 algorithm is taking the derogatory in the Remark and then applying the age of the derogatory event to be the Date of Last Update, which makes it calculate a score as if we had a bankruptcy in November of 2020, giving us a score 122 points lower than EX since it appears to have occurred against an Auto account within the last year.

Does anyone know the specific credit reporting rules regarding Date of Last Update in records included in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, and have experience disputing the last update dates?  I would like to file a dispute to have all 5 of those accounts set back to July of 2016 which will probably take our Auto FICO 8 up into the 700's.  

Thank you!

[FireMedic1]

Last activity simply refers to the last date that a change to the account was reported, such as paid in full. Was anything paid early during your 13? Nothing changes the DoFD, file date, or DC date. Check your PACER account and see what documents have a date in 2020. That may explain it.

[RobotOverlord412]

Yes, the auto loan was paid in full by the Trustee in November 2020 and we received the title shortly after, which is when the last update was changed.  But with the Chapter 13 flag still on the account, the FICO 8 scores tank with that combination, even though it's a good thing.

[FireMedic1]

Yeah the update from that transaction probably is what got you. It will fade soon. Updates can hurt. Thats why we tell people dont dispute. Comes back updated and verified and ding. Score loss.

[RobotOverlord412]

If you are post discharge, can you dispute individual accounts to remove the Remark field WEP code (Chapter 13 Bankruptcy) and change the code to only state the account is closed and payment status to paid in full for auto loans that were paid off?  The fear is that if the dispute is unsuccessful, they will change the last update to current and destroy your score again until it drops off.

[sml1997]

Did you ever get this resolved? I am having the same issue, and it's only with Trans Union. I have about five accounts that are still updating post bk 13 filing, and none of the other accounts included bankruptcy are updating. And to your point my TransUnion score is significantly lower than others. Just wondering if you were able to solve for this?

[RobotOverlord412]

I filed yet another dispute with Transunion over this one for five accounts, and they responded stating that the date of last update was accurate for all but one of the accounts, and for that account they updated it, but it wasn't the account that was causing the most damage with the recent DULA. 

I put this one on the backburner while I was filing a complaint against Transunion with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for not removing 4 years of late payments on my mortgage during the Chapter 13 even after the mortgage company sent them an update TWICE and they failed to update it properly, removing the account once, and when they put the account back it had all of the lates again.  They just finally removed all of the lates the last week of December after responding to the CFPB complaint. 

I'm currently preparing my write up for the next CFPB filing for this issue when I have the time to do it, but I think I'm going to take a different approach on the two car lines.  Instead of requesting that the DULA is removed, I want them to remove the derogatory included in Chapter 13 from the account, and put the record to paid as agreed, since both car loans were paid in full during the Chapter 13, and I have the titles to prove it.  When a derogatory is removed, the DULA no longer impacts the score.  In my last dispute I specifically asked to change the dates, so this might be a better approach.  I might even try that for the Capital One CC since that was paid in full during the plan. 

I only had one CC that didn't file a claim and had the debt discharged, and I just saw that they are still listing the account as derogatory, payment status as payment plan, and the date of last update is now 12/31/2021.  I'l be including that detail in my next CFPB complaint, it's as if they are trying to continuously punish me because they didn't file a claim and had to write off the debt.  

[sml1997]

Wow! Thanks for sharing those details. It's almost as if they don't feelgoing through a bankruptcy is tough enough, they just want to continually punish you. I filed a dispute, let's see how it goes. But if if they don't change anything, I probably will have to go the same route you did with filing complaint with the consumer Financial protection bureau. Thanks again for sharing the information. Super helpful and good luck to you!!!